mollymurphy
Well-Known Member
Some of you may have read my post the other day about a mare we have on loan with view to buy. She was vetted on wednesdays and they found cataracts.
Well, she's a big fatty, so has been in a bare paddock with the other fatties for a while now. But yesterday the farmer asked if we wanted to move them up to another paddock (still baldy, but more grass than they were in). So we turned them out in there at 12pm. Went to get mine in at 6pm and our loan mare was scrambling round at the gate, looking very aggitated. She's always been hyper-sensitive to flies, so i put it down to that. Lead her in and tied her up outside her stable. Noticed a clump of little lumps on her bum and wondered whether she'd rolled in nettles?
Well, she was looking very depressed and pawing at the ground, so i put her in her stable to see what she did. She instantly got down and just lay there groaning. Panic! Got her up, but she went back down. She wasnt rolling around, but just laying there. Got her up again, took her temp - 35.8, HR 40 and respiritory 16. Wondered whether it was colic or an allergic reaction. Phoned mum. She came and Mo was still down. Got her up again, but she started doing mini rears and pulling all her banks down, then went down again.
Phoned the emergency vet. She took an hour to arrive (good job it wasn't something who's leg was hanging off!) Also phoned Mo's owner (also a vet) to let her know what was going on.
By this time, Mo was flat-out on the floor, eyes rolling, mouth open - i really thought she was gonna die before the vet got there. VERY scary!
Vet got there, confirmed colic. Gave IV bute, which worked wonders. Stuck her arm up Mo's bum (!) and had a feel around. Said she felt very gassy, but she couldn't feel any major probs.
Mo got her appetite back and started eating her straw bed, so we moved her to a shavings stable. She hadn't pooed at all at this point. I slept in the car at the farm over night, checking her every 2 hours. She finally pooed at 5am! Yay!
Phoned her owner at 7am. She said to offer her a little bit of hay, so i've soaked a leaf and put in inside 2 small-holed nets. She said to keep her in for now, gradually introducing hay again).
Just come back to freshen up (slept on horse rugs - not a very nice fragrance!)
What are peoples' opinions? Was the colic probably just caused by her pigging out in the new paddock? How would we stop that happening again?
And what now? Is it best to leave her in, or would you turn out (into the VERY bare paddock)?
What about hard feed? (she only gets a handful of Happy Hoof, but she's on a respiritory suplement, which she benefits from).
And how long would you leave it before riding again (assuming everything continues to be fine)?
Many thanks.
From a very tired and stressed out mum! x
Well, she's a big fatty, so has been in a bare paddock with the other fatties for a while now. But yesterday the farmer asked if we wanted to move them up to another paddock (still baldy, but more grass than they were in). So we turned them out in there at 12pm. Went to get mine in at 6pm and our loan mare was scrambling round at the gate, looking very aggitated. She's always been hyper-sensitive to flies, so i put it down to that. Lead her in and tied her up outside her stable. Noticed a clump of little lumps on her bum and wondered whether she'd rolled in nettles?
Well, she was looking very depressed and pawing at the ground, so i put her in her stable to see what she did. She instantly got down and just lay there groaning. Panic! Got her up, but she went back down. She wasnt rolling around, but just laying there. Got her up again, took her temp - 35.8, HR 40 and respiritory 16. Wondered whether it was colic or an allergic reaction. Phoned mum. She came and Mo was still down. Got her up again, but she started doing mini rears and pulling all her banks down, then went down again.
Phoned the emergency vet. She took an hour to arrive (good job it wasn't something who's leg was hanging off!) Also phoned Mo's owner (also a vet) to let her know what was going on.
By this time, Mo was flat-out on the floor, eyes rolling, mouth open - i really thought she was gonna die before the vet got there. VERY scary!
Vet got there, confirmed colic. Gave IV bute, which worked wonders. Stuck her arm up Mo's bum (!) and had a feel around. Said she felt very gassy, but she couldn't feel any major probs.
Mo got her appetite back and started eating her straw bed, so we moved her to a shavings stable. She hadn't pooed at all at this point. I slept in the car at the farm over night, checking her every 2 hours. She finally pooed at 5am! Yay!
Phoned her owner at 7am. She said to offer her a little bit of hay, so i've soaked a leaf and put in inside 2 small-holed nets. She said to keep her in for now, gradually introducing hay again).
Just come back to freshen up (slept on horse rugs - not a very nice fragrance!)
What are peoples' opinions? Was the colic probably just caused by her pigging out in the new paddock? How would we stop that happening again?
And what now? Is it best to leave her in, or would you turn out (into the VERY bare paddock)?
What about hard feed? (she only gets a handful of Happy Hoof, but she's on a respiritory suplement, which she benefits from).
And how long would you leave it before riding again (assuming everything continues to be fine)?
Many thanks.
From a very tired and stressed out mum! x
